Pope Says Copts Were Killed After Refusing to Renounce Their Christian Faith

The death toll in the latest terrorist atrocity targeting Egyptian Christians rose to 30 on Monday, after a victim succumbed to his wounds three days after Islamist gunmen opened fire on a group of travelers whom they had identified as Christians.

The number of dead, who included children, makes it one of the deadliest single attacks against members of Egypt’s beleaguered Coptic minority in decades. …

Gunmen in three pick-up trucks opened fire at a bus and other vehicles carrying Christians heading for a monastery in Minya province south of Cairo. Unconfirmed reports said the gunmen were dressed in military-type uniforms and that male victims were asked their religion before being gunned down.

“The victims, amongst which were also children, were killed after having refused to renounce their Christian faith,” Pope Francis told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in Rome on Sunday, describing the attack as “another act of ferocious violence” against Egyptian Christians.

This is odd. Pope Francis has said that “authentic Islam and the proper reading of the Koran are opposed to every form of violence.” …

The Muslims who first asked these Christians to convert and then killed those who refused were following Muhammad’s instructions as recorded in a canonical hadith. Muhammad said: “Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war … When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them…. If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them. (Sahih Muslim 4294.)